National Blog

Leveraging Aid to Pakistan

A recent article in The American Spectator by Reid Smith called "Turning off the Taxpayer Pipeline to Pakistan" contrasts the very different views on foreign aid to Pakistan between Sens. Carl Levin & Lindsey Graham on one side, and Senator Rand Paul on the other.

Both grudgingly agree that Pakistan should receive more than $1.1 billion in American taxpayer dollars, held up for months until Islamabad received our apology and reopened critical NATO supply lines into Afghanistan.

After their closure, costs skyrocketed -- the U.S. found itself paying up to six times as much to send war supplies to troops in Afghanistan through alternate routes.

Sort of puts Secretary Clinton's apology in perspective.

For his part, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is attempting to cut off future funds to Pakistan -- contingent upon the release of Shakil Afridi, the Pershawari doctor who was imprisoned after assisting U.S. efforts to hunt down Osama bin Laden.

Sen. Paul seems to understand what escapes Sen. Graham; namely, "if you cut the money off, what leverage do we have" isn't really "leverage" when the tax-dollar spigot springs eternal.